Belt tensioners are utilized to ensure the associated belt, such as a belt in an automotive vehicle, is placed and maintained in tension. The tensioner may be desired to be maintained in its nominal position which places the belt in the desired state of tension. The tensioner may incorporate a spring element that urges the tensioner to the nominal position under normal operating conditions. In many existing tensioning device the spring force applied to the tensioner may be relatively high when the tensioner is initially mounted in the nominal position to account for torque decay. However, such relatively high tension can cause degradation of components in the system, and also adversely effect fuel efficiency.